sue-colleycross

It's sad to see a superb actor like NIcholas Farrell trying to do something with an abysmal script and a cast who just can't act. The Scottish scenery is the star of this film, which is yet another rewrite of the Cinderella story complete with ugly sisters (mother and daughter) and fairy godmother old retainer. With reference to the accents, the nobility of Scotland have English accents because what used to be called 'the BBC accent', is prevalent throughout the aristocracy, whether they live South or North of the Border. I imagine this was however, done by default rather than be design as apart from various notable establishment shots and famous locations, there's not a great deal of authenticity within the film. One glaring problem was the tartan, did no one think to research that particular aspect of costume, when one of the great markets for family tartan is the US.

This film borrows heavily from the 1947 film: 'It Had to Be You' but has none of its quality acting nor character development. The title coupled with the 'cover' are totally misleading i.e. Golden retriever puppies. However, in truth the dog is the best actor in it. I guess the promoters of the film had watched it and realised that was the only way to sell it when they chose the art work. There are several anomalies in the narrative and also some weird continuity problems but to mention them would come under 'spoilers' The big question about this movie though is why would anyone want to be 'Jessica's' best friend, she is written as unpleasant, self-obsessed and border-line vicious, 'Michael' should have reburied the box and moved on.

These film reviews are supposed to have a synopsis of the plot but for some reason this one has a complete scene-by-scene breakdown which give away the whole dramatic narrative. It's a fun crime thriller and well worth watching with stand-out performances from the lead, Edmund Lowe, heralding his potential as a tragicomic actor and as an introduction to the great character actress Ruth. Donnelly. Very much in the spirit of 1930s, the plot would have resonated with both audiences, real and imagined, as a blend of mysticism (born of WW1 deaths) and poverty (born of the Depression.) so why spoil it ?